ARLINGTON — If you showed up at the Ballpark on Thursday expecting a pitching matchup for the ages based on accounts in this publication, we extend our sincere apologies. It seemed like a good idea at the time. A correction will appear shortly.

But, really, kids, it had all the earmarks: two of the league’s best right-handers, strikeout artists, guys who can fill up a park.

And what comes of all the hype? Justin Verlander doesn’t make it out of the third inning, and Yu Darvish labors for a career-high 130 pitches and a 10-4 win before 39,778, a pretty fair gate for a school night at that.

Frankly, they’ve witnessed this caliber of pitching before. Most of the club’s history in Arlington, as a matter of fact.

The best news I can relay on the much-ballyhooed pitching front Thursday is that Darvish seems to have solved the mystery of the first inning. For the second start in a row, he went 1-2-3. Last time it was the Astros. This time it was Detroit, which is a little different.

Darvish needed just 10 pitches to get through the first, a good sign. Of the 16 runs he’d given up in eight starts, nine came in the first inning.

But after clearing the second Thursday, Darvish lost it in the third. Eighth-place hitter Don Kelly started it with his first homer of the season, and it got worse from there.

Before the inning was over, Darvish had thrown 36 mostly fat pitches and the Tigers led 3-1.

Asked what went wrong, Darvish said through an interpreter, “I just got hit.”

Yes, he did, and it was looking like it might be Verlander’s night.

Going into Thursday’s game, the Tiger ace owned a 7-2 record and 2.02 ERA against the Rangers, the best of any active pitcher. And what happens in his half of the third? Gives up seven runs on a couple of singles, a double, a home run and two — two — bases-loaded walks, one short of the total he’d yielded for his career.

Verlander gave up six hits and eight runs in his shortest outing of the season, 22/3 innings, because he never got to his secondary stuff, which was because he couldn’t find his fastball.

“I’ve never seen him not be able to command that,” Ron Washington said. “That’s why he’s so good.”

On most nights, anyway. But not on the big bill.

For sheer entertainment Thursday, the highlight of the third was Ian Kinsler’s slide into third base that almost took off his nose. He went in like he’d lost his landing gear and ended up six feet foul, one toe on the bag, a big, goofy grin on his face. It was a tough night for the Rangers’ second baseman, at least physically. Verlander had hit him on the shoulder with a rare curve, which tied Rafael Palmeiro’s club record for most times tattooed by an opposing pitcher. It’s a tough way to make a living.

It was certainly a tough night for Darvish, and not just for what the Tigers did to him. Despite his hard third, he lasted until the eighth, an inning longer than anyone in the park expected, including Darvish.

“I think I was going to be taken out,” he said.

Concerned about a tired, depleted bullpen and a Detroit lineup that “is not soft anywhere,” Washington instead sent Darvish back out for the eighth despite a six-run lead and his starter’s pitch count at 113.

Darvish got Miguel Cabrera on a nifty kick save by Adrian Beltre and assist from Elvis Andrus; struck out Prince Fielder for his sixth K; then went to work on Victor Martinez.

With the count at 1-2 and Martinez fouling off pitch after pitch, fans stood, applauding, waiting on Darvish’s career-high 130th pitch.

Martinez finally popped up, mercifully ending Darvish’s workman-like night. He said he was glad to keep throwing. He had plenty left and averaged 120 pitches a game back in Japan. But this isn’t Japan. It’s the big leagues, where the task is harder. He now owns 127- and 130-pitch games this young season.

“The thing about Yu Darvish,” Washington said, “is he bends but never breaks.”

But it’s not as though his manager and pitching coach aren’t trying. Even if he didn’t always look like it Thursday, the man’s your ace, Wash. Treat him like one.

He certainly one-upped Verlander, which was some solace for Rangers fans. Winning is all that matters, anyway. Do that, and fans will come. A full house always beats a pair of aces.

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